Works

Since its creation, mankind has used the concept of play as a way to break from reality, placing the player in a new world with its own unique rules and boundaries. This element of play and games appeal to a large range of people, for there are a large range of games to play. Caillois divides play into four main categories of design; Agon, Alea, Ilinx and Mimicry, which can all vary on a range from Paidia to Ludus. As human beings evolve, so too do the mediums through which we play, one of the most popular today being videogames. Inclusion of all four design categories, ranging from paidia to ludus, serves to better appeal to the player, accommodating to a range of preferences. Taking Dragon Age (Bioware, 2009 – 2014) series as an example, it can be seen that all four categories, in both paidia and ludus forms, are present within the series. Continue reading “A discussion of Caillois’ four categories of design applied to Bioware’s Dragon Age”

Light My Way is a 2D platformer, set in an ambient underground world. Players will control light and dark to solve puzzles and guide a growing sapling to the surface. Using the soft glow of a firefly, players light the path for the seedling, overcoming obstacles and avoiding danger from hostile enemies and perilous environments.

Consumption of media in our society has soared over the last decade and, as a result, audiences are becoming exceedingly more active in their interaction with media. Audience plays a dominate role in the creation of any successful media piece and has led to the invention of numerous theories to explain the ways in which audiences process various media texts. This level of audience engagement determines whether an audience is passive or active, in regards to the amount of participation the audience has with the intended message encoded by the creator of the text (Hall 1999, p. 509).

I lift my head from his chest and try to steal a glance at his face, watching for some kind of tell. I was always shocking at poker. Why was my throat so tight? Why did I even care what he thought? Why was I so afraid he would judge me?

A loud thunk of glass bottle hitting carpet pulled me into consciousness like someone yanking me forward by the front of my shirt. My eyes would have flown open had they not been sealed by the remnants of last night’s mascara. Thankfully I had drawn my shades last night, leaving my room in an eerie darkness. Unfortunately, the gloom left me with little inkling of the time, resigning myself to the assumption it was afternoon already.

Since the first literary work, the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’, was told three thousand years ago, humans have been using the art of storytelling to teach values and morals to future generations. Since then, storytelling has become a medium for the reader to explore their own personality and identity. The recent technology boom has made video games a prevalent method for storytelling to reach modern viewers. Video game developers are able to explore the human psyche by creating characters with rich backstories and complicated psychodynamic frameworks, whilst also guiding the player on their own journey of self-discovery.